Land registration process

Legal representation to register a deed

In most property transactions in Scotland, solicitors act on behalf of the buyers and sellers. Property law in Scotland can be complex and property rights represent some of their owner’s most valuable assets. We suggest using a solicitor when dealing with property to protect your rights.

The Keeper can accept applications for deeds from individuals, but these are subject to additional legal and fraud prevention checks. All applications must meet the requirements of the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 (“the 2012 Act”).

Duty of care owed to the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland

The Keeper is a registrar and cannot provide legal advice.  You must make sure your application meets the terms of any applicable legislation.

When applying for registration, all parties to a deed including any legal representatives, owe the Keeper a legally enforceable duty of care. Breach of this duty of care can lead to criminal prosecution.

You can find out more information about the duty of care provision and criminal sanctions.

How to register a deed

If you wish to register a deed without using a solicitor, you should contact our customer services team who can advise you on the process to apply.

You must email a completed:

• application form and the deed you wish to register as a read-only PDF file
• ID form for all the parties to the deed you will submit for registration

Do not provide copies or originals of documents used to verify your identity unless requested by us.

Also provide any additional information as required.

Once you have sent us the forms and customer services has reviewed your application, you’ll pay the registration fee (this payment can be made by credit or debit card over the phone and a post-paid invoice will then be raised). We do not accept cheque payments.

You can download the application form and ID form. Find out the registration fee for your application.

You can find out more about how to register a deed. We'll complete further checks after the application has been accepted, which can lead to further questions, or your application being rejected.

Additional information for registering a deed

To submit a first registration, we need:

• the full prescriptive progress of the title
• any off-register links in the title for example, wills or confirmations
• any deeds that show the extent of the property being registered
• any deed that shows any rights which benefit the property being registered
• any deeds which include encumbrances, for example, securities and burdens that affect the property being registered
• any searches or investigations which have been conducted

For transfer of parts and dealings of whole we need to know of any:

• links in title between the last registered proprietor and the grantee
• searches
• investigations

Contact us

If you have any questions about making an application, you can telephone our customer service team on 0800 169 9391 or email the team at customer.services@ros.gov.uk.

The team can help you with the process to submit a deed and cannot give any legal advice about:

• the application and ID form
• the terms of the deed that you will submit